A user interface, as used herein, is the interface between a user and a computer program, providing output to a user, typically as graphical, textual, and/or auditory information, and receiving input from a user, for example text, keystrokes from a keyboard, movements from a mouse, and selections (e.g., from a mouse or touchscreen). UIs may be text-based (e.g., command line interfaces), graphical (GUIs), or web-based (WUIs). A GUI accepts input via devices such as a computer keyboard and mouse and provides articulated graphical output on a computer monitor. A WUI accepts input and provides output by generating web pages which are transmitted via the Internet and viewed by a user using a web browser program. While some user interfaces will accept text in any form, other user interfaces require text to be entered according to a particular form to accurately perform a desired function. This is especially true for advanced searching programs, which often require special terms, arrangement of text, and connectors to locate desired information.
Copy and paste functionality allows content to be copied from one location and transferred identically to another. Specifically, “copy” and “paste” are related commands that offer a user interface interaction technique for transferring text, data, files, or objects from a source to a destination. The copy command creates a duplicate of selected data and places it in an area of memory referred to as a “clipboard.” The data in the clipboard may later be inserted in a position where the paste command is issued. A user may select a location for insertion by some method, typically by clicking at the desired insertion point. The paste command visibly inserts the clipboard data at the insertion point. Copy and paste functionality typically takes place in graphical user interface systems.